Voter registration drive

The 2012 ExpressSOS Voter Registration Drive will be at the front door of the Michigan League, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday. The deadline to register to vote in Michigan for November’s general election is Oct. 9. The Secretary of State’s mobile office also can process address changes, driver’s license renewals, license plate tabs and other SoS services, provide information on smart phone access to sample ballots and a polling place locator. Also, U-M faculty and staff who plan to participate in political campaigns are encouraged to review the online Campaign Guidelines information at www.vpcomm.umich.edu/guidelines. Photo courtesy Public Affairs.

As a symbol of gratitude and recognition of the vision of Penny and E. Roe Stamps, the Board of Regents approved Sept. 20 the renaming of the art-and-design school to the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design.

Can the next U.S. president make public universities more affordable — and can the federal government do anything to support crucial research that takes place in these institutions? Yes, said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman and Carnegie Corp. President Vartan Gregorian in a panel co-presented by UCLA Sept. 19 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

When it comes to saving for retirement, most Americans could be focused on the wrong number. Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF, which manages the retirement savings of 3.7 million people, suggests that instead of looking at the total wealth accumulated consumers should know how much income they’ll have each month.

An inkless wet paint that changes color. A reusable heat pack you boil to recharge. A wireless sensor that could one day fit inside a blood vessel. These are three of the technologies that could move closer to market thanks to a unique new Master of Entrepreneurship program at U-M. As for where the innovations fit in the marketplace and what their most promising applications are — that’s up to the students in the program’s first cohort to discover over the coming year.